Match of the Round
Weston Workers Bears FC 0 drew Maitland Magpies FC 0
Sun. 19 July 2:30pm
Rockwell Automation Park

Weston coach Trevor Morris was disappointed his side could not take advantage of their numerical edge after playing a 10-man Maitland team for an hour and coming away with a scoreless draw in Round 14 of the Northern NSW PlayStation® 4 National Premier Leagues (PS4 NPL).

Maitland’s Corey Fletcher was given a straight red card in the 31st minute for lashing out at Weston’s Nick Thompson after they came together in a contest for the ball.

The Bears also finished with 10 men after Zac Sneddon, who came on for an injured Garry McDermott (back) at half-time, was sent off in the final minutes for striking.

The result means Weston stayed in fourth place and Maitland in ninth. The Bears are on 26 points, one point behind Hamilton and three ahead of Broadmeadow. Maitland remain five points clear of last-placed South Cardiff in the battle to avoid relegation.

Morris said ‘‘there could have been plenty of goals’’ in ‘‘a pretty tough encounter, that didn't disappoint for a local derby’’.

‘‘There were a lot of goal-scoring opportunities for both teams but we're just very disappointed we didn't finish our chances,’’ Morris said.

‘‘We didn't use our numerical advantage well enough, we didn't move the ball quick enough or wide enough, and they hung in.

‘‘It was there to be taken, but we didn't execute.’’

Weston defeated Maitland 1-0 in their first encounter this season and Morris was impressed with how far their Coalfields rival have come.

‘‘They are lot better side now,’’ he said on Sunday.

‘‘They did some good things, they showed a lot of character and the thing that was missing at the start of the year, in my opinion, which is working hard for one another, and they did that today.’’

Maitland coach Reece Thompson was proud of his side’s performance.

‘‘We battled well,’’ Thompson said.

‘‘We wanted to go there and get three points but obviously you take the draw after playing a man down for 60 minutes.’’

 

Edgeworth Eagles FC 0 def. by Adamstown Rosebud FC 2
Sun. 19 July 2:45pm
Jack McLaughlan Oval

Adamstown upset leaders Edgeworth and kept their slim PS4 NPL finals hopes alive thanks to two second-half goals from former Newcastle Jets forward Travis Cooper.

Cooper scored in the 60th and 75th minutes to lift Adamstown to 19 points, seven points behind the top four with four rounds remaining.

Coach Graham Law said the win came from ‘‘a real team effort’’ but he was particularly impressed with the performance of midfielder Callum Gallagher.

‘‘You don't beat Edgy away from home without the whole team playing well,’’ Law said.

‘‘But this guy came in at the start of the season and played three games for us. He drifted back to 22s, but I’ve been impressed by his work at training and brought him in for this match, and he made a really big impact on the game.’’

Law said the victory would lift his team as they search for finals football in their second season of PS4 NPL competition.

‘‘We absolutely are a good football team, you just have to look at our record against the top-four teams,’’ Law said.

‘‘We are just a young squad looking for that key thing - consistency - and we won't give up in our season until we mathematically can't do anything.

‘‘We'll just kick on and see how we go.’’

Edgeworth were without Justin Tannock, Bray Smith, Josh Evans, Aaron McLoughlin and No.1 goalkeeper Jim Fogarty. They then lost replacement keeper Ben Smith early in the second half to a hamstring injury.

Eagles coach Damian Zane, though, said there were no excuses from his camp.

‘‘They deserved to win it and they deserved to win it by two,’’ Zane said.

‘‘I think they are a better team going forward since they lost Guy Bates. They had one outlet then and we defend that easy because we have good, experienced centre backs.

‘‘They are a dangerous team now and I rate Travis Cooper and Nic Bale.

‘‘We were lethargic and just showed a lack of effort. That was probably the first rocket I’ve given in my first-grade coaching career, because you could see we were just not there.’’

Edgeworth remain league leaders but their advantage was cut from four to two points with the loss and other results.

 

Broadmeadow Magic FC 0 def. by Lambton Jaffas FC 2
Sun. 19 July 2:30pm
Magic Oval

John Majurovski and Riley McNaughton scored to convert a dominant Lambton Jaffas performance against Broadmeadow into three points and a move to second place on the ladder, two points behind Edgeworth.

Lambton led 1-0 in the 33rd minute after Luke Remington intercepted a wayward Broadmeadow pass before laying on a through ball for Majurovski.

The striker showed strength and skill to hold off defenders before dinking the ball past Magic keeper Nathan Archbold.

Broadmeadow created their own opportunities and scrambled well in defence but their hopes nosedived when Magic centre-back Jon Griffiths was given a second yellow card for a foul in the 81st minute.

McNaughton did it all himself to ensure victory for Lambton in injury time, making a long run before shooting then tapping in the rebound off Archbold.

Jaffas coach David Tanchevski was ecstatic with the commanding display from his side, who were without super-sub Michael Bridges.

‘‘The first 10 minutes it was pretty even, but once we settled it was one-way traffic the whole game,’’ Tanchevski said.

‘‘We had two or three good chances first half, then probably double that the second half.’’

Magic co-coach Robert Virgili, who was without senior players Peter Haynes and Josh Piddington, said the loss of Griffiths hurt their chances of getting a result but he was happy with how they played, especially in the first half.

‘‘The effort was certainly there from the boys but we just lacked those final touches in the final third,’’ Virgili said.

The result left Magic three points behind the top four in fifth place.

 

Hamilton Olympic FC 3 drew South Cardiff Gunners FC 3
Sat. 18 July 2:30pm
Darling Street Oval

A 10-man South Cardiff side showed spirit to comeback from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to secure a 3-3 draw with top-four side Hamilton.

Matt and Andrew Swan scored to give the hosts a 2-0 lead early in the second half before South Cardiff’s Jarryd Johnson was sent off for a second yellow card on the hour mark.

Nathan Stevens then came on for South Cardiff and sparked his team, providing the pass for Sam Parker to score.

The Gunners were then level when Dan Johnson scored from the spot after Kyle Hodges was penalised for contact with Phil Bures close to goal.

Hamilton substitute Ben Koina scored in the 86th minute to put Olympic ahead again, but an own goal from Cody Lucas off a Jeong Sang-deok cross two minutes later brought the teams level.

There was drama deep in injury time when Olympic were awarded a penalty against Gunners keeper Tom Pullin, who then saved the spot kick from Simon Mooney.

The last-placed Gunners remain five points behind their nearest rivals, Maitland, but coach Greg Asquith said the effort would lift his side in the fight to avoid relegation.

‘‘I thought we were really good and even at 3-all I thought we were still a chance of getting a winner,’’ Asquith said.

‘‘We created a few chances in the first half and we were ultra positive at half-time.

‘‘We got seven points out of nine as a club on the day, which was a great for us.

‘‘It’s a step in the right direction and definitely a lift for the boys.’’

Hamilton coach Michael Bolch, who was without No.1 goalkeeper Danny Ireland, Matt Harper and Jason Korotkich (all holidays), praised the fighting spirit of the Gunners.

It was Hamilton’s sixth draw of the season and saw them drop from second to third on the ladder, one point behind Lambton and one ahead of Weston.

‘‘We had enough chances again but I can’t take anything away from Southy,’’ Bolch said.

‘‘At 2-0 up against 10 men, we should have gone on with it, but they wanted the game more than us.

‘‘They could have turned their toes up at 2-0, but it was their grand final and they kept going and going.’’

 

Charlestown City Blues FC v Newcastle Jets Youth FC at Lisle Carr Oval on Sun. 19 July was washed out.